Refrigerating coil



E, R. HOPKINS REFRIGERATING COIL Filed June 13, 1932 INVENTOR,

July 10, 1934.

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Patented July lill, i934 incense RElFRllGlElti-THNG ClllL Ernest R.Hopkins, Kansas City, Mo., assigner oi 8 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigeration, and icularly cooling apparatusin the form oi a rigerating coil which may be used wherever it isdesired and altered with respect to its cad pacity as the conditionsrequire, and one of the ortant and primary objects of the invention toprovide a reirigerating coil constructed in a manner which will permitof quickly adding a cooling unit for the purpose mentioned, as well tofacilitate and expedite installation and to irl-ore positively controlthe temperatures within a reirigerating compartment.

2l still further and important aim of the ininvention is thecontemplation of a new novel reirigerating coil that is made up of aplurality of jmtaposed units, wherein is incorporated a length ciconduit o flattened, tubular, cross-section; a perforated baille memberwithin conduit in contact with the inside thereof at spaced apartstaggered points; and a plurality spaced, corrugated fins in heatexchanging Contact with said conduit at points substantially oppositethe points of contact or" said baille meh P,.all :For the purpose ofconducting a refrigerant vand producing a heat exchange that isexceptionally ecient for the amount ci refrigerant and is highly eectivein maintaining a preosternined cooling temperature. n el yet furtherobject of the invention is to provide a reirigerating co'il having anumber or" inter-related units, said units being adjustably me'ntainedin assembled relation, whereby they l Wy be moved to and from each otherto suit cony ditions, said adjustment being arranged to permitterconnecting conduits or? the refrigerant conduits or the units topermit the passage oi. a reirigerant through all units from a singlesource of supply.

The ina-ny minor objects oi this invention are extremely important, therelation oi parts, their forni and association, all being exceptionallynovel to the extent that their combination creates a refrigeratlng coilfound to be relatively cheap manufacture, low in maintenance cost, anddesirable irom the standpoint of results obtained and cost ci?operation.

With the above broad concepts oi the invention in mind, the inventionwill now be described by reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a broken perspective View of a refrigeratlng coil built toincorporate thepresent invention.

@5 Fig..2 is a fragmentary, longitudinal, central section through aportion of one unit ofthe coil shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a vertical, cross-section through one unit taken between twoof the spaced apart ilns, and,

Fig. l is an enlarged, fragmentary, detailed, sectional view through aportion of the refrigerant conduit forming one of the units.

As indicated in Fig. 1, refrigerating coil embodying this invention mayinclude any number of units placed in parallel relation, one above theother, or side by side. These units are adjustably interconnected ashereinafter set down, and since each unit is substantially identical,the following description of one of the same will render clear the exactstructural features thereof.

Each unit comprises a conduit 6 of any predetermined length, Which ismade of heat conducting metal and formed to present a flattened,tubular, cross-section having parallel sides 8.

and arcuate edges 10, as illustrated in Fig. 3. In

forming the conduit in this fashion, the same is caused to present anattenuated passage for the refrigerant which presents a relatively largearea or" contacting surface to the volume of refrigerant passingtherethrough.

The use of a conduit of this form has been found to be highly eihcientand to further amplify its efciency, there has been associated therewitha baille member 12, having periorations lll formed therethrough andcreated of heat conducting metal for the saine reasons as those set downfor conduit 6. This baille member is preferably formed of resilientmetal and extends longitudinally through conduit 6 in a zig-Zag pathwhereby it contacts the opposite sides of conduit 6 in staggered points16 therealong.

In forming baille member l2, the zig-zag path oi the same should besomewhat wider than it is when member l2 is in place. Thus, whenpositioning member l2, the contact set up at points 16 is a frictionalone and of sullicient intensity to positively assure conductivity ofheat from member l2 to sides 8 of conduit 6. By such construction it ispossible to raise the temperature of the refrigerant to an exceptionallyhigh degree after a single passage through the coil. Pressure and speedof the refrigerant is likewise elciently altered and the heat unitabsorbing power throughout the entire length of travel lof therefrigerant is amplified by baflling the flowing stream thereof andassociating therewith the parts here set forth. y

The circulating air within the refrigerator or other compartment isbrought into contact with a series of spaced apart fins 18, each ofwhich is corrugated transversely of the normal flow -of air within therefrigerator to create a serpentine path therebetween which precludesestablishing an air column, and which contacts the moving air to agreater extent than is the case with the ordinary planar fins. Fins 18are in heat conducting and exchanging relation with the length ofconduit 6, and while soldering the same has been found to be mostadvantageous, the association might be set up through any of the wellknown mechanical means which permits proper heat exchange.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, each n 18 is a separate element and thedistance between opposite, vertical edges 20 and the adjoining sides 8of conduit 6 is substantially the same as the distance between eitherupper or lower edge 22 of n 18 and edge 10 of conduit 6. The size of fin18 is determined by the size of conduit 6, and the action of theparticular refrigerant used. The reason' for establishing a relationbetween fin and conduit 18 and 6 respectively as just mentioned is toutilize every square inch of nn surface. The parts shown in Fig.- 3 arefull sized and when such are used, there is never a part of fin 18 fromwhich the refrigerant is not actually drawing, by conduction, the heatunits absorbed by the 1in.

Manifestly, this type of construction overcomes the objection ofbringing into a refrigerating coil a certain amount of air contactingsurface which is not under the control of the refrigerant.

The foregoing makes clear the manner of creating the individual unitmaking up a refrigerating coil constructed in accordance with thisinvention, and reference to Fig. 1 and the following will fully disclosethe manner of associating a number of these units. A hollow terminalmem.- ber 24 is in communication with each conduit 6 at each endrespectively thereof, and appropriate fittings 26 adjustablyinterconnect these members 24 so that a continuous ow of refrigerantfrom intake pipe 28 to exit pipe 30 may be established. 'Ihese fittings26 include ordinary couplings which co-operate with tie rods 32 inpermitting adjustment on the part of the units toward and from eachother. Appropriate set screws 34 complete the adjusting apparatus, andsince such adjustment is usually slight, the parts as mentioned arecapable of .permitting the movement desired.

The travel of air in the compartment is in a vertical path. Since it isdesired to break up the current of air as far as possible, it isimportant that the vertically aligned units have the fins offset instaggered relation as shown. That is to say, thens of the lowermost unitlie in planes between the fins of the upper unit. The units positionedside by side have the fins thereof disposed in the same vertical plane,but free circulation of air is permitted between the units arranged sideby side by spacing apart thefins thereof. This space may be altered inconformity with the volume of air passing between the refrigerating coilfins and practically any condition of refrigeration might be met byadjusting the units, adding units of various lengths, or increasing ordecreasing the sizes of the units used.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A refrigerating coil comprising a plurality of juxtaposed units eachhaving a refrigerant conduit and a plurality of ns in heat exchangingrelation with a predetermined length of said conduit, said predeterminedlength of conduit b@- ing flattened-tubular in cross-section to form anattenuated refrigerant passage; and a perforated heat-conducting bafflemember within said length of conduit in contact with the inner face ofsaid conduit, said baffle member being of the same general flattenedcross section as the said attened conduit.

2. In a refrigerating coil, a refrigerant conduit; a plurality of finsin heat exchanging contact with the outside of said conduit; and a bafemember of heat conducting material within said conduit in heatexchanging contact with the,

ing longitudinally along said conduit in contact with the opposite sidesof said conduit at staggered points therealong, said strip beingmaintained in position by frictional engagement with the inner face ofsaid conduit.

4. A refrigerating coil comprising a plurality of juxtaposed units eachhaving a refrigerant conduit and a plurality of fins in heat exchangingrelation with a predetermined length of said conduit, said predeterminedlength of conduit being attened-tubular in cross-section to form anattenuated refrigerant passage; and a heat conducting baflie memberwithin said length of conduit, said baflie member being slidable to andfrom assembled relation Within the conduit and frictionally engaging theinner face of the con--v duit when positioned in such relation at spacedpoints throughout its length, an engaging point being adjacent eachpoint of connection between said ns and conduit, said baille memberbeing of the same general attened cross section as the said flattenedconduit.

5. In a refrigerating coil, a refrigerant conduit a plurality of ns inheat exchanging contact with the outside of said conduit and in spacedapart relation therealong; and a baille member L of heat conductingmaterial within said conduit, extending longitudinally along saidconduit in a zig-zag path to contact opposite sides of said yconduit atstaggered points therealong, said points of contact within the conduitbeing substantially:

the same distance apart as and in the same transverse plane with thecontact points of the said spaced apart fins.

6. A refrigerating coil comprising a plurality of juxtaposed units eachhaving a refrigerant conduit and a plurality of ns in heat exchangingrelation with predetermined lengths of said conduit, said lengths beingparallel to each other and the fins thereon extending therefrom in aplane perpendicular to theconduit lengths; and adjustable means to movesaid predetermined lengths of the conduit toward and from each other,the fins of said units moving toward and from each other as suchadjustment is made certain of said adjustable means being hollow toIserve as conductors of refrigerant from one unit to another and othersbeing solid tie rods to maintain the units in adjusted position.

'7. A refrigerating coil comprising a plurality of juxtaposed units eachhaving a refrigerant- Leeaoee conduit and a plurality of ns in heatexchanging relation with predetermined lengths of said conduit, saidlengths being parallel to each other and the ns thereon extendingtherefrom in a plane perpendicular to the conduit lengths; and means toadjust said predetermined lengths of the conduit toward and from eachother, the ns of said units above and below each other being instaggered offset relation said adjusting means comprising hollowterminal members each having adjustable fittings interposed therein tolengthen and shorten the distance between said terminal members and tierods slidably joining said units in co-operative relation with saidterminal members.

8. A refrigerating coil comprising, in combination, a plurality ofjuxtaposed units each having a length of refrigerant conduit offlattened-tubular cross-section, a plurality of spaced apart, corrugated:fins4 carried by said length of refrigerant conduit in heatexchangingcontact therewith, the distance from the edges of said ns to the conduitbeing substantially the same, a perforated balile strip of heatconducting material extending in a zig-zag path longitudinally throughsaid iattened-tubular length of conduit, said bafe member contacting theinside of said conduit at staggered points in the same plane as theadjacent ns; means adjustably maintaining said units in predeterminedspaced relation with the iins of the horizontally aligned units in thesame plane and the lns of the vertically aligned units in staggered osetrelation; and means to supply refrigerant to said conduits.

ERNEST R. HOPKINS.

